Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

Has anyone out there got their hands on one yet? Mine's on back-order, "early March" per the retailer. Well it is early March but the retailer still has no more information than that.

Ron

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

No but look forward to hearing your thoughts on the lens. Especially since you are coming from a Nikkor 80-400mm. I love my Nikkor 80-400 lens. It just feels much nicer to use than my Panasonic 100-300 lens. The focus ring especially is something i dislike about the 100-300 lens. It's just squishy & not very responsive.
Please post back here when you get the lens & have had a chance to put it through its paces.
Thanks,
Bryce

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

B&H appears to be saying mid-March and Amazon is saying end of March with a pretty confident ship date. Not much in the way of good sample images released yet.

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

Retailer says "no news" which a bit of a bugger but nowt one can do about it. Off to Espana in April. Bird vidding trip. Handy to have that lens with me.

Here's a YouTube vid Bryce with my new Sigma 150-600 "Sports" and TC1401. Attached to the GH4 via a Metabones "Smart" adapter. Follow focus a bit iffy but that's me.

A far superior combo than my older 80-400 Nikkor with/without a 1.4X T.C. apart from weight and bulk. Though I wish (and told them) that Sigma would make all of their lenses in MFT mount.

Ron

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

That was great. Little guy was hard to follow wasn't he?

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

Nice vid Ron,
Ah the joys of following such a tightly framed subject at such narrow fields of view!!! You did very well!!

That Sigma lens sure is built like a tank. Almost as heavy too! I guess if the weather sealing is what you're after, then you have to go for that version over the contemporary version. Albeit at the expense of the massive weight gain.
I have to say, while an M4/3 mount would be great, i actually like the fact that with my Tamron 150-600, or Nikkor 80-400 i can use a couple of different adaptors. One being the Metabones speedbooster, giving me that extra stop of light if need be. Of course i reduce the crop of the lens with this, so that can be either a good or bad thing! Or i use my adaptor with a built in variable ND filter. This adaptor is the one i use the most, as i can not only control my aperture, but keep it where i want it, without having to change shutter speed. It is a little fiddly, but having that control is really awesome. In fact, along with no XLR's, no built in ND filters is the only thing i miss about using the GH4 over a dedicated video camera.
Regards,
Bryce

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

Houbara Bustard not that small, about the size of a Brent/Brant Goose but with much longer legs.

Can't half shift though.

I'm using Varavon Follow Focus Slings for both zoom and focus on my Sigma. Cheap and cheerful but okay, particularly as I do most of my video from inside a car with the tripod set up over the passenger seat, focussing via a SWIT monitor. (Too many wires which why I'm interested in an iPad or even better Macbook Air as a wireless monitor/controller, see post below)

In retrospect I should've got the "Contemporary" instead of "Sport" Sigma given my preference for video from car.

Ron

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

Well that's interesting! The only Bustards i've ever seen were about the size you describe, but watching the video, they appear to be way smaller. ??
I just looked up the Varavon focus sling. Very similar to the one Panasonic sells. Do you find it helps with focusing much? I guess you have to move your hand further to get the same adjustment as you would with your fingers on the ring itself?? I miss using a follow focus for the precision it gives, just trying to think of a way to make something work that doesn't need mounting on rails but will still operate like a traditional follow focus. I have some ideas, just need the time to put something together.
Regards,
Bryce

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

That Sigma looked good. Thanks for sharing.

Bryce, what adapter are you using that has a builtin ND? Thanks-

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

Hi Mark,
This is the adaptor i'm using. Have to say, it's the adaptor i use all the time unless the light is really low & i need to get the extra stop i get with the speedbooster.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1086044-REG/fotodiox_ndthrtl_nikg_mft_vizelex_nd_throttle_adapter.htmlRegards,
Bryce

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

The Sling(s) works okay for me, not as precise as my follow focus used on XLH1 and EX3 but then no need for rails and all that messing about if e.g. one wants to remove the TC from the lens.
As I'm usually sat in car I have to stretch to get to the lens rings and the Slings mean all I have to do is use a finger or two to rotate. Problem, and the FF was similar, is that unpredictability of birds movements means very easy to focus "past" the bird and pulling focus back can similarly be overdone.

I should have mentioned that my Metabones Canon EF to MFT "Smart" adapter provides lens "automation" i.e. aperture control via the GH4, image stabilisation and auto-focus which I've not tried yet.

Looking forward to the Lumix as complementary to the Sigma(with TC) and a lot less weight.

Here's another YouTube vid. with the Sigma/TC/Metabones/Varavon combination. This time 1080p "Variable Frame Rate"

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

He was certainly being cooperative. Looks great!

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

Hello Ronald,
Nice jobs; congrats!
I don't understand why you seem to regret the "Contemporary" Sigma 150-600mm instead of "the Sports" one. It is lighter, okay, but since you shoot from the car you don't really care? "Sports" version is supposed to best the best one isn't?

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

My understanding , via reading blogs and the like since I purchased the lens, is that the Sport and the Contemporary are optically identical, differences being in build and weather sealing.

Given I do most videoing from inside a vehicle, and hardly ever outside in the rain, I might have saved some money as well as having a lighter back-pack when going through airport check-in or when out and about.
It doesn't bother me though, c'est la vie.

Still no sign of the 100-400.

Ron

Re: Lumix 100-400 Lens
 

Thank you Ronald. It's true that the price difference between the Sports and Contemporary may not be really justified.
For the moment I use the Tamron 150-600 with the Smart Adapter (it was released before the Sigmas), that's fine but not excellent.
The Panasonic 100-400 should be sharper on the GH4. In France, it is announced for April 11th.